Health official warns of holiday spike in respiratory infections

The risk of respiratory illness will rise in China during this weekend's three-day New Year's Day holiday, a health official said on Thursday.

Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said that increased movement by people visiting friends, traveling for leisure or attending family gatherings during the holiday from Saturday to Monday is expected to fuel the circulation of respiratory diseases.

He said local administrations must strengthen surveillance, early warning and risk evaluations for infections, add to capacities at fever clinics and emergency care, pediatric, respiratory and intensive care units, and take steps to guarantee the supply of regular medicines, testing kits, medical equipment and hospital beds.

China has coped with a surge in respiratory illness driven by multiple pathogens this winter but officials said infections have been trending downward in the past few weeks.

However, Mi said that hospital visits with respiratory illness rose this week. Flu cases now account for the majority while the number of mycoplasma pneumoniae cases is falling and COVID-19 infections are at a low level.

Peng Zhibin, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said flu cases have peaked in some provinces and will gradually decrease. The spread of other pathogens, including mycoplasma pneumoniae, adenovirus and the virus causing COVID-19, is also at a low level overall, she said.